Rajasthan Royals will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take on a struggling Delhi Daredevils at the Sardar Patel Stadium on Thursday.
Despite the loss to Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, Rajasthan continue to occupy the third place in the standings.Now they will be looking to consolidate their positon as other teams make a dash for the playoff spot.
The Kolkata Knight Riders are fast closing the gap as they are now just two points behind Rajasthan in fourth place.
For a large part of the season, the young tyros have carried Rajasthan. Sanju Samson (193 runs from 9 matches) and Ajinkya Rahane (252 runs from 10 games) set the ball rolling early in the season, while Karun Nair (202 runs in seven matches) has similarly impressed.
Rahane has since gone off the boil, while skipper Shane Watson (227 runs from 10 matches) is yet to stamp his presence on the tournament.
With the competition heading to the business end, it is about time the two senior pros started to find form.
But they will need to be wary of Delhi, who have nothing to lose, as they are out of playoff contention after suffering eight defeats from 10 games.
The hosts may feel they have an advantage having defeated Delhi by seven wickets in their last meeting earlier this month.
With just four matches to go, Delhi are yet to find their best combination. They have had moments of brilliance during the season, but most of them have been from the batsmen while their bowlers have struggled throughout.
